Dania Ramirez

Dania: (On portraying Maya on 'Heroes) I'm originally from the Dominican Republic, and to have the opportunity to play a Dominican character and speak my native language, it's an exhilarating experience.

Dania: (On her fellow 'Heroes' cast members) We really get along well, so we hang out more outside of set than anything. I got an opportunity to hang out with a few people who all got sent on [the Heroes summer] world tour. For my leg of the tour, I was hanging out with Zach [Quinto], James Kyson Lee and my little boy Noah [Gray-Cabey]. He's so cute.

Dania: (On her family situation) I'm the middle. There are all girls in my family. I was like the boy, with sports.

Dania: To this day I feel I've accomplished so much because not only did I start an acting career, I also took for year soff and went to college ... My parents are very proud of me.

Dania: (On working on 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer) that was one of the first times I got to work on something that had any kind of impact like that. I had done a couple of pilots but nothing that had a following the way that Buffy [the Vampire Slayer] had a following. I got to work with Sarah Michelle Gellar and that's the thing that you dream of. I drove out here, cross-country with my best friend and to get an opportunity to be on a show like that, especially in the final season… It's interesting, because I usually come in during the final season or after the show is a hit! There's no pressure!

Dania: Here I am, I'm a girl from the Dominican Republic. I wanted to be a star, but I really didn't know what that was or how I was going to be able to accomplish it.

Dania: I wasn't really aware of a lot of superhero stuff when I was growing up. When I was growing up I was running around; I was a little tomboy. So I was just running around trying to be an athlete and trying to reenact things from TV, but I wasn't really into reading comic books or anything like that.

Dania: Kristen Bell, I want to just take her home and put her in my house and just keep her there. She's amazing.

Dania: (On working on 'Heroes') Honestly, it's the most amazing feeling in the world to be able to work on something that you're really proud of. I'm working with amazing writers and they've created a character for me who's so complex and the evolution of my character and the arc of where I'm going is interesting.